Posts Tagged ‘technology’

There are a few very simple steps to follow to schedule your time and have a great day. Do them daily, and you’ll have a great week. That’s not what we’ll cover here.

We want to know how to maximize the first hour of the day!(or so) so we get a great start to the day and keep it going. Here goes:

Alarm goes off. No snooze button. Before your feet hit the floor say this verbatim, “This is going to be a great day for me.” That’s it. That’s all you have to do to set your mind and start the engine correctly. But there’s more. 14 seconds

Wash your face or whatever you do for the morning wake up ritual. Shake out the cobwebs of the night and get things going. 35 seconds

No email, no social media. This is ‘me time’ and not they time. Read your goals. Surely you set goals and are working on them. Do email at the office. 2 minutes

Write 10 things you want to accomplish in the next 30 days. Simple goals. But important. Do this every day. 4 minutes

Meditate, pray. Connect with a higher power. It’s the only way. Clear your mind. Be with yourself. De-clutter. 10 minutes.

Eat a small piece of fruit. Apple, banana whatever. On the way to workout.

Exercise routine. Whatever it is. 1 hour minimum.

Get your morning nutrition. 30 minutes

Read something worthwhile with your breakfast: spiritual, news, schedule for the day, but still not emails. Get on those when you begin your day in the office.

Get to your day. Tackle the one thing that you really don’t want to do. It’s called “Eat the Big Green Frog.”

We have time for all of these actions. Add up the times. This ain’t difficult.

That reminder comes along a little more frequently than I’d like. Yep, it’s a function of time. That’s one way of saying ‘age.’

We can watch relatively young-year-olds retire and within a few years look like they’ve been pulled through a keyhole. Then a 90-year old gets her college degree, climbs Mt. Tall As Hell, learns to play a musical instrument. What’s the difference.

Best I can tell it’s several things and I’m going to give you a list. The great thing is…you can start on the list now, any time, at any age. So, go ahead.

Give yourself an Attitude boost and chose to be a Fountain, not a Drain.

Read, educate yourself, learn something new every day, teach someone.

Eat right, exercise, walk, watch the sunrise and set.

Avoid the negative people, media, events. Just get the heck away from them.

Turn off your TV. See above.

Listen to the birds. You heard right. Watch them. You’ll feel better in about 7 seconds.

Do you need it for internal communications as well as your Marketing programs?

Then start with the answer to: SO WHAT?

Do you have a major reason to “Get to Yes” with a client or prospect? Something like make the sale, or authorize an agreement?

What would it mean to you to have the “ok” from an investor or banker to fund your project? Could it put you on the road to success?

How would it make you feel if you could gather 100% support for your plan from your team?

The answer to these and other questions is apparent when we begin our communication by addressing the audience’s question…”SO WHAT”. What is in it for them? This is where we appeal to their emotions vs. trying to convince them with logic, facts or charts.

From the book, “So What?” by Mark Magnacca we are reminded that “the people you are trying to communicate with, sell to, or reach don’t really care about you, or what you have to offer, until they know how what you have can benefit them.” “If you help enough people get what they want, by showing or explaining how what you have can benefit them, you can have anything you want.”

Most of us believe that “I” have to communicate “my” message because it is “important.” It’s all about us. When, in fact, it’s all about them.

We are told it’s all about what we say, how we look, the quality of our collateral materials, how smart we are……

So, we tell people about “my product, my service, my idea…..” And that worked well for a long time. Now, we can ask Mr. Google anything we want to know about your product, who else sells it, where I can get it on-line, and more. We have to give people the SO WHAT answer first.

Learn to identify the emotion that will move your audience. We have to get away from what we think our words, facts, logic and pictures should say or show someone.

We have to ask ourselves “what is the purpose of my presentation or message?”

“Why should they care?”

“What benefits will they receive?”

We may have to grind down and down and down to be sure we are answering the WHY at the most basic and desired level of our audience.

Focus on what your audience needs to hear vs. what you want to say. “People don’t go to the hardware store to buy a quarter-inch drill. They go because they want to make quarter-inch holes.” (Harvard professor, Ted Levitt) Deliver the end result.

The ability to communicate what we need and want is critical to our business survival …and survival in our other forms of existence. Understanding the So What factor for all of our messages Gets Us to Yes. Then we complete the cycle of What We Want to What We Get.

The first lesson is Leadership and Mentoring is be a guide, tutor, coach, leader. This is where we learn to leverage our own qualities and our ability to create output by teaching and helping others. We know how Trusted Mentors will leave their mark. Sound advice, guidance, love and examples. They help with personal growth and are important in shaping a young mind.
So, we have to ask: What is our legacy? Who can we help? How can we shape the lives and futures of others? Who can we remove from a negative place? What marks are we leaving along the path for the next generation? Here’s the important thing: We may be successful, but we have an obligation to pass on what we’ve learned. It is not ours to keep. It is ours to pass on.

With mentoring you may never know how your legacy will continue to grow and influence others. Some may take 50 + years to be recognized.

When I was 11 years old it was a big deal to be in the “A” league in Little League baseball. I was fortunate enough to be there. We were returning Champs. Several of us had be on the “All Star” team. Tryouts are held each year and boys are picked for teams in the A, B & C leagues. Our coach picked a boy I didn’t think belonged on an “A” team. Somehow I had appointed myself judge. This young boy lived down the street from me. He couldn’t throw the ball out of his shadow. We could have had another boy who could really play. But the coach knew he should select him. He came from an unfortunate family situation. They struggled with everything. The self-esteem of everyone in the family was low. I now know after 50+ years this was one of the most important things I have ever witnessed. I now know how much it helped that boy and helped his family. I now know how wrong I was to judge that boy and to judge the coach’s choice. The coach was my Dad. He was gone by the time of my ‘awakening.’ I didn’t get to tell him how proud I was of this unselfish mentoring decision. I’ve told him in prayer. I am telling him now in a forum that will live in the public forever. It took 50+ years for my dense head to get it. But I’ve got it now. I’m proud of him for his legacy.

PRODUCTIVITY/TIME MANAGEMENT: I’m going to start with the answers. I’m going to give you things you can do right now that will solve this Time dilemma. We know the key is managing ourselves within a space of time. The gurus are out there. The suggestions and techniques for improvement will fill a room. You can buy training modules on Time Management. The information is there. That’s not the challenge. The challenge is doing it! Start your day with meditation/prayer whatever you call it; mess free environment; work in 90-minute segments then a 10-15 minute break; exercise; 60-minutes per day of relaxation (not TV) with no electronics; put a $$value on your time and don’t do tasks with less value–delegate; Eat the Big Green Frog; don’t fight your body clock, do the high-value tasks when you are the most alert, fresh and on; Don’t listen to stuff about the early bird gets worm… Just get the worm. There can be good worms in the latter part of day; WHY to do list vs. to do list; learn and educate yourself; stop the screen sucking activities; review your day and week in advance and plan each….the list can continue. I imagine you could add to it. If you say, “Yeah but…” to any of these, then you’ll continue to struggle with productivity. Those who change their habits and do these…find time.

While reading an e-book recently I came across these elements of success. They are offered by Mark Magnacca in his book The Product is you. Has studied what makes people successful for over a decade. You’ve seen it all before. These are themes, in varying forms, in books and articles that are in plentiful supply. So, why don’t we practice them? They are easy to do, and easier to avoid. Don’t let excuses keep you from the success you deserve. Put these simple steps into action, now. Good Luck!

They have specific goals.
• They develop a plan to achieve their goals.
• They stick to their plan and can modify it while remaining
focused on the objective.
• They have an open mind.
• They are adaptable.
• They don’t take rejection personally.
• They push themselves even when they don’t feel like it.
• They understand their strengths and their weaknesses.
• They understand the power of working as a team.
• They are coachable.

I can’t build on the Admiral’s comments. They are, in my opinion, the best I’ve heard in a long,long time. He’s relevant, basic and sincere. No hype in this. No do-like-I-do preaching. It’s a message that will live a long time.

Copy the text and save it for your children and grand children. It will be relevant then too.

Serving the customer. It gets tossed around in every sales meeting. We’ve got to improve. It’s the way we will grow. It’s the king. It’s the…you get the idea. This is a true story. It is a story about service of the first order, and how it works.

Bonnie is a mortgage lender. Sixteen years ago she wasn’t the veteran she is now, but she was no rookie either. Yet, her reputation for helping people was spreading. The young, newly-wed couple sat across her desk. The wife was apprehensive. A few years before she had been through a devastating divorce. It had depleted her financial strength and she feared her credit rating would ruin their chance of buying the house they wanted. Bonnie was able to help them with the loan. Dream house secured.

Forward 16 years to a chance meeting between Bonnie and the wife. A lady approached Bonnie and asked if she recognized her. Bonnie, ever the diplomat, acknowledged she did but didn’t remember her name. The lady re-introduced herself, then apologized to Bonnie. She admitted that 16 years ago she had feared a loan for their home would not be possible. She had been scared, intimidated, ashamed and truly anxious ridden. She told Bonnie she was delinquent because she had not thanked Bonnie for helping them and was ashamed for her lack of manners. She was indebted to Bonnie for the dignity with which she had been treated. For the way Bonnie had made them feel special and comfortable. For giving them hope when it truly didn’t look like much was available.

Bonnie’s day was made. One of those blue bird events that puts you on top of the world.

Here’s the message: Everyone wants to be financially successful. You want to collect your commission, paycheck, whatever. You go through all the right motions. You take care of a client and expect the reward. Hold it a second. When we realize that our future is built on how we make other people feel not just performing our service, then we have a shot at the financial rewards. They make our future, not the reverse. Customer service? Yeah, it’s important. But it is only effective when put ourselves on the other side of the table and treat the client accordingly.

What a special feeling Bonnie has. She gave a young person dignity, confidence and comfort. Done with grace, humility and professionalism.

One hot summer day the boy and his friend took a long bicycle ride, ending up 10 miles from home at the small local airport. The serving counter of the café inside the terminal promised a cold glass of ice water.

The waitress asked the boy what he wanted. Water would be great, he had no money. His friend had a dime and could order a coke. The two sat and talked about their “adventure” ride from home, as 12 year old boys will do. The boy noticed the waitress approaching.

She put a coke in front of the boy. “Ma’am” I don’t have any money”. She told the boy that a customer had overheard him and bought a coke for him. The stranger had already departed the café.

At that moment there was no one to thank. So, for 50+ years he has remembered and built on the stranger’s kindness. How many lessons are in that experience?

Sharing without keeping score. Pay it forward. It was all about a bicycle ride.